A Christmas tree placed in an Elmira Park in memory of suicide victims has been vandalized.
WETM-TV reports the tree was set up at Eldridge Park in Elmira, by the group Smile Through The Storms. Tuesday, someone broke angel ornaments on the tree, cut off the lights and dragged it to a nearby river.
“All of the survivors there we’ve been through our own personal hell of losing a loved one to suicide. The person, or people, that found it necessary within their minds to go through, and destroy something like this… It’s cruel and it’s heartless,” said Deb Maxwell, Founder of Smile Through the Storms. The group hopes to be able to plant a permanent tree in the park.